'Tharoor should have revealed Pushkar link'

Union Minister Farooq Abdullah favoured Shashi Tharoor stepping down to protect the "honour" of the government and said the Kerala MP should have revealed his relationship with Sunanda Pushkar right from the beginning.

"Well, then my decision would be to (set aside). I would go... not only for honour of mine but for that of the country and the government," Abdullah said when asked if he would have set aside (step down) if he was in Shashi Tharoor's place in the IPL row over his friendship with Pushkar.

Abdullah, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, was speaking to Karan Thapar on the Devil's Advocate programme on CNN-IBN.

Noting that Tharoor must have been "embarrassed" and "feeling sad" for not revealing his relations with Sunanda in the beginning, he added, "I think he should not have been afraid. How does it matter if he is friend of a woman. He should have been upfront as what is there to hide in it."

54-year-old Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs, has rejected opposition allegation of misuse of office to influence IPL Kochi franchise's successful bid or get any financial gains for him or his friend Pushkar.